Happy Birthday?
by Hadronix
Summary: Shifters and Humans have completely different ways of life. A Shifter follows instinct, things just 'are'. Humans desire an explanation, they want reasons. So when Keaton's mate, Yasei, decides to throw him a surprise birthday party, he is unsure at best. But, he did promise her he would try to learn the Human lifestyle, so he does just that.


Keaton lets a heavy sigh of aggravation as his mate leads him through the halls of Krakenburg, her scent is nothing less than ecstatic, but that does nothing to quell the near anger of her not listening to him. _'She is_ ** _my_ **_mate, after all.'_ Still, it is that same defiance that causes her to be so desirable, her will is stronger than any other female he has ever encountered. "Where are we going?" He tries once more.

Her first reaction is a giggle, that only serves to increase his agitation, "I told you, it's a surprise!" She smiles.

"And I told you to tell me." His Beast cries out, _'Claim,_ ** _mine_ **_.'_ His Beaststone starts to glow in response to his increasingly frustrated state.

She hesitates as he senses her Dragon wanting her to listen, to know her place, "Trust me." Once more, her Human triumphs in her eternal battle of will. "Keaton…" Her voice drops to a whisper.

"Mate..." He replies, pushing his Beast back as he fights to act 'Human'. _'It will never be easy.'_

"Trust me, okay?" She pleads.

He closes his eyes, sighs, then nods, "Fine." He relents, her smile doubles and she resumes guiding him along the corridors. However, her steps have become more rigid as they move, he can tell that her Dragon is putting up much more resistance than usual, all she needs is one push. "Mate."

With that, she stops in place, and this time when she looks at him, he can clearly see her Dragon behind her eyes, the Human has passed, "Yes?" She squeaks out as she takes a step towards him.

He eyes her over, _'If she's going to make me wait.'_ His own resolve is set, " **Mine** ." No other words are needed as she strips herself bare, he makes short work of his own piece of clothing and pins her against the wall, Yasei completely submits, his Beast and her Dragon. Alpha and mate. _'_ ** _Mine_ **_.'_

* * *

Once more she is left a panting mess, his own need is sated. Yasei stumbles as she redoes her buckles, "Better?" She asks, clearly still heated as she didn't even have time to have her own orgasm before he finished.

"Hm." He growls his consent, then allows himself to be led once more, "We aren't in an army anymore, mate." He speaks his mind.

"I know." She simply replies. "But you still need to…"

"Know your place." He interrupts her, "I'm only allowing you so much control at a time."

"Keaton…" She starts, her defiance has already returned.

"Mate…" He counters.

"You will follow me." The amount of command in her tone catches him off-guard, "Damn it, I've planned this for **weeks** , and I'm not letting Wolfskin tradition ruin it!" She finally lashes out, her eyes glistening with unshed tears, "So you are going to have to deal with it!"

"...Fine." His compliance relieves the anger from her and she flashes her Human smile at him.

No more than a minute later she stops at a door, "Here we go." She opens the door to a darkened room, yet before he could question anything, a fire spell flickers and candles are lit en masse, showing off bright and colorful banners, a stark contrast to Krakenburg's design. "Happy birthday!" She exclaims.

"Yaaay!" Elise pops out from behind a piece of furniture.

The Wolfskin doesn't budge, "I don't have a birthday."

"Yea, you never told us!" Elise giggles, "So we decided on one!" She snatches his hand and leads him inside, "Trust me, once you've had one, you'll want one every year!"

"She's right, you know." Camilla's form walks in from behind, "Sorry I'm late."

"You're here now, so it's all good." Yasei waves her concern off, "So, let's get started?"

Perhaps if Keaton was Human he would question the lack of Leo's or Xander's presence, but he's a Wolfskin, the only one that matters in here is his mate… and maybe Elise or Jakob. _'No one else can touch my mate.'_ He looks over the accessories once more, still uninterested in the idea. "Get started with what?"

His foul mood does nothing to dampen their spirits, however, as his mate still gives him a huge smile, Elise is still bouncing around, and Camilla walked off to grab… a board? "How about a game to start things off?"

"I know no…"

"We'll teach you!" Elise giddily interrupts him, "It's easy!"

"But more importantly, it's fun." Camilla adds and Elise eagerly nods. He looks over to Yasei, who is clearing out a table for them to use.

"Which one are we playing first?" Yasei asks, _'First? There are more of these?'_ He happens to glance past Camilla, where there are, in fact, almost an entire stack of similar looking boards.

The eldest Nohrian princess gently lies the board down, then proceeds to bring out small figures, along with a cube with dots on it. Giving in to them, he sighs, "And those are what, exactly?"

Which causes Elise to gasp, "You never used a die before?"

Now the Wolfskin is left even more confused than before, "How do I use death?"

A short awkward pause follows, before all three of them start giggling, "No, 'die' is plural for 'dice'." Yasei manages to get out, "The number of dots is equal to…" With that, she goes off to explain each thing, from the 'die' to the 'tiles' on the board.

While he does begin to understand what them mean, "And the purpose of this is?" He doesn't grasp **why** . _'This isn't instinct, it has nothing…'_

"For fun!" Elise's voice breaks through his thoughts, "C'mon, just try a round first. You can't say you dislike something if you never done it before!" The three women take a chair and seat around the table, eyeing him expectantly.

"...Fine." Once more he pushes his Beast back and conceded.

* * *

It has been several 'rounds' now, and while he isn't growing more agitated at their antics, he isn't exactly having fun, either. The night goes on as more boards are introduced, each with its own set of rules, and a number of times he found himself mixing a similar-sounding rule from one game with another. Yet, they gently guide him towards the correct course, as if they have infinite patience.

"Is there anything else?" He finally asks after what has to be the tenth different game, _'This is starting to get…'_

"Presents?" Elise offers.

"No, cake first!" Yasei counters.

Camilla giggles, "Sisters, it **is** Keaton's birthday, he should choose."

Once more, their eyes turn to him, he fidgets uncomfortably, "Cake." He decides to go with his mate's answer. Their eyes light up as Elise clears the table, Camilla walks off, and Yasei scoots closer.

"This means a lot, you know?" Her voice drops to a whisper.

"I'm failing to see the meaning." He admits.

"Are you trying to?" She continues.

"Yes…" He sighs.

"Then that's good enough for me." She hugs him, a wave of pride washing over her, "I know it's hard for you, but if you're at least trying, then I'll be happy."

"...Right." He sighs as the board and their pieces are now replaced with small plates and utensils. Camilla brings out a circle of colorful food that immediately overwhelms his senses with one word, _'Sugar.'_ His stomach turns at the thought of **that** much sugar being packed into one thing.

"Okay, now for this…" Yasei starts to whisper as the other two sisters start putting sticks of some sort onto the top, each one with a wick, _'It's a small candle.'_

"Ready?" Elise looks at her other two sisters, then him. The Wolfskin reluctantly nods. Yasei starts off the 'birthday' song, then Elise and Camilla soon follow. Together, their voices match well, causing the tune to sound much more pleasant than when his mate explained it. Of course, his mate's voice is the one he's focused on more than anything and he finds himself actually wanting the song to last longer. Following his mate's instructions, he takes a breath and extinguishes the flames, making his wish mere moments before.

"A small piece." He states before Camilla slices into it, "There's way too much sugar in that." She calmly nods, and procures a near paper-thin slice.

"Is this enough?" She asks, he replies with a grunt and a nod. She gladly gives him the portion, though he hesitates before actually biting into it, _'Way too much sugar.'_

"You first!" Elise goading voice rings out. Heaving out a sigh, he uses the offered utensil and bites into it…

And as if he has the ability to see into the future, his first reflex is to cough it back up, _'How can they deal with_ ** _this_ **_much sugar?!'_ Still, he chokes down that one piece before pushing the plate back. His mate offers an apologetic smile. The other three happily devour the sugar packed treat, leaving nothing more than a few small slices and half of his own piece.

"Ooo, the presents are next!" Elise is now bouncing in her chair, the sugar has clearly gotten to her.

"Now now, our dear Elise," Camilla laughs as she tries to calm the now hyperactive princess.

"But it's been so long since we had such a high quality cake!" Her body refuses to stay still.

But her bouncing body isn't what caught his attention, "High quality?" He asks.

The three princesses share a look, "It was your first one, of course we spent more than normal." Camilla states, as if it should be common knowledge.

"You used excessive amounts of resources on me?" It is finally starting to dawn on him how important this celebration means to them… humans, that is. If they lived in Hoshido, them that declaration wouldn't have had the same impact, but even the most uneducated commoner could see how strict Nohr is for resources compared to Hoshido…

And they used those same resources on **him** , for a tradition he has never even heard of until after he claimed Yasei. "Well, duh." Elise is just as carefree about it as Camilla, "You're family, after all!" She giggles at his shocked expression. _'There it is again, family… the closest Human equivalent of a pack.'_

"Do you understand now?" His mate… no, Yasei asks, her eyes are as full as compassion as ever, but they somehow seem… brighter than normal. Her smile seems to glow and she looks much more attractive, but not in the sense of mate, like he has been viewing her.

"Yes, I do." His voice comes out strangely coarse, clipped. It is a sensation that is simply beyond him. "Ma… er no, hey Yasei." He sounds so much smaller than before.

"Yes, Keaton?" Her eyes are full of life, more so than ever before.

"...Can I open those presents now?" The response from his question is nothing less than three beaming faces, three huge smiles, and the single most strange feeling he has ever had…

But it's a feeling he would like to have more of.


End file.
